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July 13, 2025
 

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MLIT

Utility poles in urban areas such as Tokyo have a high risk of collapsing in the event of a disaster.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2025
Japan eyes new target for replacing utility poles with underground power cables
The main goal is to remove utility poles along urban-area emergency transport routes that have a high risk of collapsing in the event of a disaster.
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2025
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The move comes in response to a series of incidents involving battery packs emitting smoke or catching fire during flights.
Trucks parked at Japan Post's post office in Tokyo's Koto Ward earlier this month
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025
Japan Post stripped of truck transport business license
The company will not be allowed to operate its approximately 2,500 trucks and other vehicles for five years.
Japan Post President Tetsuya Senda speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2025
Japan Post to accept loss of truck transport business permit
The transport ministry is expected to revoke the permit by the end of this month at the earliest.
If Japan Post loses its general cargo vehicle license, it would be barred from reapplying for a new one for five years.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 5, 2025
Japan Post may lose cargo license over widespread driver check failures
A transport ministry audit in April revealed enough instances of missed checks in the Kanto region to surpass the threshold for license revocation.
Japanese license plate samples — the top two are examples of nationwide license plates, while the bottom two are examples of "gotochi" license plates.
JAPAN
May 25, 2025
Japan to scrap monochrome special license plates
The ministry will soon allow only multicolor versions in an effort to ease the burden on license plate makers amid an expected increase in demand.
While the cost and logistics of installing platform doors have proven challenging, railway operators are adopting new solutions to lower expenses and increase flexibility.
JAPAN / Society
May 20, 2025
Japan sets goal of having doors on 4,000 train station platforms by fiscal 2030
The decision to raise the target reflects ongoing safety concerns, as accidents involving passengers continue to occur.
A manhole card and a manhole cover featuring characters from "Sailor Moon," on Feb. 10. The cards were handed out by Tokyo's Minato Ward, where the series is set.
JAPAN
May 4, 2025
Manhole cover designs recognized as tourism assets in Japan
The initiative to create specially designed manhole covers began as a public relations campaign to improve the image of the sewage industry.
The transport ministry will consider administrative punishments for Japan Post after carrying out probes.
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2025
Government begins probe of Japan Post over improper driver checks
The audit started after it was learned that 75% of post offices offering collection and delivery services across the country had improperly conducted mandatory alcohol checks.
Japan Post conducted a nationwide survey after it was revealed in January that a post office in Hyogo Prefecture had neglected to perform the required checks.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2025
Improper alcohol and health checks on drivers found at 75% of Japan Post offices
The irregularities included fabricating records without conducting the checks.
Kochi and Tottori prefectures, in collaboration with major airline ANA Holdings, will begin offering airfare discounts through the introduction of a flat-rate system as early as October for individuals based in multiple locations.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 23, 2025
Japan picks model projects to promote 'dual habitation'
The land ministry has selected 26 model projects to promote a lifestyle in which people divide their time between rural and urban areas.
Passengers at a train station in Tokyo. Railway operators plan to expand the scope of chemicals and materials passengers will be banned from bringing onto trains starting in April.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2025
Railway companies to tighten restrictions on hazardous materials
The move comes as part of a push to bolster security ahead of the 2025 Osaka Expo.
An example of utilizing waterfront spaces, such as developing public waterfront embarkments and privately owned roads into a unified plaza, and operating moored ships as hotels. The land ministry views this as a reference case for a public-private partnerships system. The photo was taken in December, in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 20, 2025
Private funds tapped for revitalization of Japan's port green areas
Many local governments across the nation are inviting businesses to boost the appeal of port areas by developing commercial facilities and cafes.
A site in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, where a road cave-in occurred in January
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2025
Sewage pipe abnormalities found at locations in Saitama Prefecture
Inspections were carried out as a deteriorated sewage pipe is believed to have caused a road cave-in the city of Yashio.
A Self-Defense Forces member leads residents in Fukamimachi, a village in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, to a rescue helicopter, on a destroyed road in January last year.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2025
Japan to subsidize efforts to prevent emergency roads from collapsing
Many roads built on piled-up soil collapsed after a powerful earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in January 2024.
A toilet container transported to the roadside station Anamizu for disaster relief in the aftermath of the Noto Peninsula earthquake, on Jan. 12, 2024, in Anamizu Town, Ishikawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2025
Japan to help roadside stations install portable containers for disaster use
Portable containers installed at evacuation centers after the earthquake on the Noto Peninsula in January 2024 were used for multiple purposes, including as medical offices.
Priority lanes for test runs of self-driving trucks will be introduced on a roughly 100-kilometer section of the Shin-Tomei Expressway in Shizuoka Prefecture.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2025
Self-driving lanes to open on Japan's Shin-Tomei expressway
The move is part of a plan to create a road network that can handle so-called Level 4 autonomous driving amid labor shortages in the logistics industry.
The area near the site where the remains of a dismembered body was found in the city of Higashiosaka, on Jan. 30.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Feb 5, 2025
Osaka police identify dismembered body as ministry official
The deceased, 52-year-old Takamichi Kamioka, had been missing since late last year, prompting his family to file a missing persons report.
A slope (left) is built at the intersection of a sunken road in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture on Saturday.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2025
Slope built to reach man trapped in sinkhole in Saitama
Firefighters will now launch a full-scale effort to find the 74-year-old driver as soon as preparations are made.
A sinkhole at an intersection on a road in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Thursday morning
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 31, 2025
Heavy machinery to be deployed in bid to save man trapped in Saitama sinkhole
To stabilize the site and facilitate rescue efforts, crews are excavating a 4-meter-wide, 30-meter-long ramp to deploy heavy equipment and clear debris.
Tokyo hit by torrential rainfall at rush hour
People line up at Shibuya Station in Tokyo as they try to avoid the heavy rain on Thursday.
Foreign drivers in Japan to face tougher license conversion rules from October
According to the National Police Agency, there were 75,905 people who converted their foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one in 2024, up from 48,885 in 2019.
Nissan clinches $4.5 billion bond deal after orders soar
Nissan Motor has raised $4.5 billion through a junk bond sale in U.S. dollars and euros, part of which carries a record-high coupon rate.
Chinese fighters came within 30 meters of Japanese spy aircraft, Tokyo says
A Chinese JH-7 fighter jet makes an near an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea this week in this image released Thursday.
What Japanese politics could look like after Upper House election
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (center) waves to attendees as he departs after delivering a campaign speech in Yokohama on Sunday.
An emoji used to say it all. Now it might say too much.
Apple’s Craig Federighi shows off a set of emoji at a conference on June 13, 2016. While the small pictures have proved helpful in conveying nuance in our texts, younger people are using them less often.
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.
Rare vintage shots and first-time shows at TOP’s 30th anniversary
The museum's curators selected a wide array of works from the archives for the milestone exhibitions. Among other photos, Nobuyoshi Araki's work from the series "Winter Journey" (1990) was included in the "Continuity and Change" exhibition that concluded in June.
New IG Arena set to dial down temperature at Nagoya Basho, in a good way
With IG Arena getting glowing early reviews as the Nagoya Basho’s replacement venue, it may be a while before fans wax nostalgic about the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Once a niche, anime is now mainstream content for Netflix and other streaming services
Though Netflix remains the dominant choice globally for anime viewers, Amazon Prime Video has also invested heavily in anime, steadily adding titles to their catalogue.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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